Blood Pacts and Wolfpacks (Closed ; Severin & Cora)

Among the many twists and turns that comprise the Underground, amidst the dilapidated ruins and ramshackle houses, behind the filth-ridden outskirts that one stops at to ponder what lies further beneath the ground, lies a fairly large marketplace. Abundant with contraband and wargear and exotic spices, the roundabout that comprises this veritable economic heartbeat winds around the centerpiece of both it and the surrounding communities - a towering cathedral resplendent with stained glass windows and incense and a reverberating choir overshadowed by the angelic resonance of a pipe organ. A cathedral dedicated to the Sanguine Church - the cult of the Red Titan. The stairs to the cathedral are short but gradual, sloping up to large oak doors that are wide open for anyone to enter. At the threshold of the building stand two men clothed in red robes and golden accessories, making idle chitchat with the market goers and ushering them past the doorway. Inside the cathedral mills around an ever-flowing sea of pilgrims and congregation regulars alike, all clamoring to find a seat and gaze at the wonderfully crafted architecture. A sermon begins in roughly half an hour, to be led by an established priest of the Church; his name is Lamenus Orvillus, and he is a vivid preacher, one who sets fire to people’s spirits and puts brimstone in their bones. The stone comprising the cathedral is a dark gray, with red granite elements and high, soaring planes of stained glass artworks. The interior smells of various incenses burned for ceremonies, and several flights of stairs trail off to various levels. It was to this marketplace, this cathedral, that Cora now found herself summoned to. An agent of the Holy Colossus himself had slipped the mercenary leader a crimson envelope before disappearing into an all-consuming crowd of passers-by...

Cora did not really like the underground much. The last time she was here things had ended...rather peculiar. The people were sick, poor and lost all their will to live. Something Cora could not understand a single bit. Atleast your survivability...atleast hold onto that.
She had gotten a message from a rather infamous personality and was summoned to the huge underground cathedral.
It had to be said, the building itself looked...great. Not that Cora understood much of architecture, but she certainly would like to live in something like that.

The good thing about being self-employed was her ability to make contracts with anyone and anything. Yes, she was under contract with the military. But she had made sure that she could still take them from anyone she wanted. Including the state's enemy. She was quite determined to play on both sides, it just had more opportunities, but in the end. The only one she would stay true to was herself. What was best for her would be what she would choose.

Even though she was allowed to do that, and even though there was noone or barely anyone knowing her down here she was still in disguise. She wore a brown long leather coat. It would perfectly fit a scrawny man and her whole appereance looked male. Her long hair was hidden behind a hood, and her face behind a bandana. She really liked the way masks looked, but those were just way too fancy for a place like this.

Cora stepped inside the cathedral, the envelope in her hands. She stayed in the shadows, not making much of a sound and staying uninteresting for all the people already waiting for the sermon.
She took a seat somewhere close to a side exit in the third row. Next to her was a family. They were chatting eagerly before she took her seat.
"Don't be bothered by me.", Nec said in his usual male voice.

Now we wait.

Time moved forward, lumbering on towards the arrival of Father Lamenus. His entrance was heralded first by the latin chanting of the choir, singing in tongues and signalling to the congregation that the time for them to fall silent had come. The organ soon joined in, announcing itself to its audience with grand tones that echoed within the towering cathedral. Awed mumbles emanated from the pews as Lamenus' procession came into view, several clergymen and honor guards accompanying the Father down the left staircase and onto the stage. Lamenus took to the podium, with the clergymen taking their seats at a table behind him and the honor guard at either side of the Father. Clearing his throat, Lamenus opened his mouth to speak the gospel of the Holy Colossus...

In his previous life, he was known as Orville Lane: street peddler and cutthroat scum of the Underground. He sold people knick-knacks and rip-offs for a living, and spent his time wasting away in jealousy of the people who lived in relative luxury above him. He had no family, no friends, and no future ahead of him other than this God-forsaken wasteland - or so he thought. One day, while he was busy peddling, Orville found himself approached by a man clad in ornate red robes, rosebuds and thorny vines embroidered throughout. Offered a chance to reform himself through the Sanguine Church and service to the Holy Colossus, Orville felt the answer was obvious. At that point, Orville had only heard rumors, seen people talk in hushed whispers, of the Red Titan. Of a man who was given the power to become a Titan and was using it to endlessly rake through the numbers of the Military Police - some thought the man was divine intervention, whilst others counted him with the Colossal Titan that had broken the Wall those years ago. Of those two, Orville quickly found himself in the former group. After all, how could someone who was cleaning out the corrupt bastards at the top and not really harming anyone else be so evil? Putting his streetborn charisma to use, Orville rose through the ranks of the clergy and soon found himself preaching the word of his savior - the Holy Colossus. He still remembers the day when he was called into His chambers in the cathedral above everything else, and how He gave Lamenus his new name. "Lamenus Orvillus," he said. "Lamenus, to signify your devotion to the sanctity of this church and the holiness of your sermons, and Orvillus, to remind you of the life of squalor and filth you once dwelled in so that you will not forget how to sympathize with your congregation and of how high you have risen through the Church. I trust you will do many great things for the Church with your new name."

"Dear friends old and new," Lamenus began. "Welcome to the Church Sanguine, the largest and most righteous of all churches within these Walls. We stand here today to honor our Holy Colossus, and to thank Him for His never-ending efforts at righting the countless wrongs wrought upon us. This morning's sermon will enlighten you of His scripture so that you yourselves may live a more holy life. We begin, if you will follow me in the Tomes stashed in the pews, on page 104: Chapter 18, Verses 98-103 of the Sect Civitas." As Lamenus dove into the written Word and the congregation found themselves wrapped up in his smooth voice and fluent tongue, a woman wearing a crimson uniform strode down the outermost aisle, stopping by the third row. Her clothing was much more utilitarian and militaristic in nature than the flowing robes and soft contours of the priesthood. Quietly addressing Cora in a hushed tone, the woman beckoned Cora to accompany her up the flights of stairs and into the interior of the cathedral.

ruth be told...it was probably for the better that Cora was sitting here in disguise and tried not to stand out too much, because as they started chanting and esspecially as she could hear the words of the priest...all she wanted to do was rise her eyebrows so high that they left her face. She had never been in any church. It was first of all: not really a thing in Krolva, and secondly, as a mercenary it was not much of a thing either. Right now the only thing she believed in was getting her business to work properly. And about siding with a state enemy? Sure. She was all for that. As long as the state did not find out, what was there to lose. That to be said, it was not like she had already decided on anything. Those were mere negotioations.

The priest spoke. He called his church not only the 'largest' but also 'the most righteous'. Oh was he not the most humble man there was? Cora barely knew anything about what the church was actually praising. She knew they were somehow worshipping a 'Holy colossus', she assumed it was the same titan that had kicked down the wall of Shiganshina back then. She still remembered it, and while she now was not that attached to her foster father...back then she would have surely never considered siding with people that had never witnessed titans.
He continued talking, now people picked up scripts and read with what he was saying. She smirked under her bandana. Most of those people were surely incapable of writing their own name, not even talking about reading. They could have written anything in those books, perhaps it was just a menu for a fancy restaurant they had stolen from somewhere. Her grin got wider, as if there were any restaurants down here.
Cora really despised the underground and she was not gonna be convinced otherwise.

A woman appeared next to Cora and asked her to come with her. There was a slight part in Cora that was disappointed that they called her away so soon. She would have liked to stay longer, getting amused by what they are saying.
Nevertheless she followed the woman up a staircase. They entered a room and she offered Cora a chair, she polilitely declined by waving her hand and half leaning half sitting on the table, waiting for...whomeever that wanted to come to enter.

The woman in the uniform shook her head and quickly turned to leave, spinning on her heels and shutting the large oak doors behind her as she left. The sound of the doors shutting echoed faintly within the space Cora waited in. The room smelled of incense, ash, and parchment, and the sound of crackling wood jumped out of the fireplace to Cora's right twenty feet away. At the end of the room stood a towering stained glass window - the one she'd have seen walking into the cathedral. Candles dotted the walls throughout the surprisingly large space, fending off the darkness and casting odd shadows upon the walls. Cora found herself leaning upon a finely crafted table constructed of mahogany, with ornate carvings adorning the surface of the wood. Detailing the 'Holy Colossus' upon it, Cora would be able to deduce that the Church did not worship the Colossal Titan as she had previously assumed - if the mercenary bothered to examine the table, that was. The sermon could still be heard from all the way downstairs in the main area, as well as the chatter of staff members walking past the room she was in. Throughout the room was a large assortment of furniture and literature, showcasing the material wealth the Church possessed. Obviously this was a place to entertain and persuade sponsors and acquiesce donations from upper-class noblemen. Towards the opposite ends of the room were two doors on either side of the window - presumably leading off to some hidden areas of the cathedral, or up to the soaring attic that dwelled on top of it. A lone figure sat by the fireplace, his back turned to Cora and what appeared to be a book in his hands. Several minutes passed before he spoke, putting a slip of paper into the text and setting it, closed, upon his lap.

"Cora Wolf. Leader of the infamous wolfpack mercenary group, now stands within thirty paces of me. I am either very about to be a very lucky man or a very dead man. Either way, I hope you've found the Church to not be too... unbearable. I know the folks below can be a bit preachy at times." The man placed his book upon a nearby coffee table and leaned so as to face Cora. Severin looked her up and down as if he were assessing the mercenary before gesturing with his arm.

"Come, Mrs. Wolf, and sit in this chair if you would be so kind. We've got a lot of business to discuss and I'm not going to hold my neck like this for the entirety of it."

Cora spent her fair share of time simply staring around and waiting for something to happen. Or someone to speak. She noticed all sorts of things in the room, but quickly dismissed most of them as irrelevant to her. Why bother keeping things on her mind if she would end up having no use for them what so ever? She quickly scanned the table but as before, she herself did not really show any interest in what was depicted. Unlike Nec, who was quite interested in it and quickly started taking mental notes on it.

Finally after such a long time of waiting and Cora getting almost bored to death someone spoke out. Or well, not just someone, the person that had been staying near the fire for a while and that Cora had to her own regret not noticed immediatly. She just assumed it was because he would not pose any threat what so ever. Excuses, excuses, but better than admitting that she had not seen him immediatly.

A grin appeared on her face as Severin started speaking and she walked towards him, "Oh you are not dead, good sir.", she mustered him top to bottom and took off her bandana and hood, which had skillfully hidden the fact taht she was a woman.
"After all, as you have said so nicely yourself, we still have important business to discuss."
Cora took a seat in the chair opposite to Severin and laid one of her legs onto the knee of the other. She stared at him for a while longer, her thinking visible written onto her face.
After a short while she raised her eyebrows and opened her eyes wider, "Ohhhh! I think I remember you!", she crossed her arms and grinned widely, "You have a rather nasty goat, don't you?"